Publication date: 4 March 2014 by Farrar Straus Giroux
Category: Young Adult Fantasy
Keywords: Fantasy, Slavery, Ownership, Rebellion
Format: Hardcover, ebook, audiobookSource: ARC from Publisher
Kimberly's Review:The General's Daughter, Kestrel, has every luxury. But even she surprises herself when she bids on a slave for her house. As their friendship grows and feelings deepen, Kestrel is surprised to find Ari, the slave, is maybe her closest friend. But she doesn't really know Ari, or what dangers he brings to her house.
I loved
The Winner's Curse and I'm really upset I don't have book two in my lap, ready to go.
There's a lot of wonderfully dark topics explored, such as ownership, unrest and rebellion. Forbidden love, social expectations and female dependency. There are only two roads for Kestrel, to get married or to join the army. I enjoyed exploring Kestrel's social limitations. She is very smart, a good strategist, and loyal friend. But she is also a girl and the double standards that exist in today's society is mirrored in
The Winner's Curse.
Ari is a complicated character. Working both sides, equal rebellion leader and traitor to his own cause, he is angry and hurt and vengeful. But he is also soft and as the book moves forward, Ari and Kestrel's relationship shapes into something real--friendship. And then maybe something more. I liked both of these characters for their fierce determination and their struggles in themselves. Because they're both fighting on opposite sides, but above all, their loyalties seem to be for each other.
And by the end, what wins out? How can you get past a girl who represents your home taken away, your life in ruins, your family gone? How can you see past a boy who captures you, betrays you, overthrows the very world you know?
Intriguing and utterly captivating, I loved
The Winner's Curse. I read it every chance I got. I had to return my friend's copy to her but don't worry. I went out and bought my own.
ISBN 10/13: 0374346674 | 9780374346676
Category: Young Adult Fiction
Keywords: Contemporary, Realistic, Abuse, Grief, Epistolary
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Source: ARC from Publisher
Synopsis:It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.
Alethea's Review:Part school assignment, part confessional,
Love Letters to the Dead introduces the reader to Laurel, a pensive girl whose older sister May, her de facto role model and idol, is dead; her family life has shattered in the wake of tragedy. For much of the book, the reader can only guess at how May died; we get the impression that Laurel witnessed the incident. But was it murder, suicide, or an accident?
Dellaria's writing style hovers on the edges of magical realism as Laurel struggles with memories she can't or won't recall. On the surface, it's the voice of a young girl with major emotional issues trying to cope with the already baffling struggles of puberty and the social lives of high schoolers. She lives part time with her aunt so that she doesn't have to attend the school that May did. She tries on parts of May's wardrobe and personality, but cannot move forward without examining her own guilt over her sister's death. She writes to the celebrities that May held in high esteem and tells them what she cannot bring herself to tell the the parents and teachers who have tried to reach out to her (some of these people even seem to have given up). The writing exercise forces her to get to the dark heart of her sadness, and the secrets she reveals are painful both to herself and the reader.
I found this novel deeply moving and well-written. At one point I felt the story begin to unravel with so many different sub-plots tugging at the seams: Laurel's crush and his connection to the world she was trying to leave behind, her two best girl friends exploring their sexuality--sometimes with each other, and her adult family members too busy dealing with their own baggage to take much care of Laurel. Ultimately Dellaria pulls it all together, threading the stories back through each other in a pensive tale of grief and hope. This lyrical coming-of-age novel melds family drama with historical and pop culture references to create a story that is touching, melancholy, and bittersweet.
*Please note that this post contains affiliate links. For more details, please see our full disclosure policy here.**I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.
Find out more about the author at
www.avadellaria.com and follow her on Twitter @
avadellaria.
Thanks to author Alexandra Coutts (née Bullen) and Farrar, Strauss & Giroux (BFYR) for including us on the blog tour for
Tumble & Fall! Alexandra answers some questions and you can enter to win a copy of the book (make sure you use the Rafflecopter widget below). Then check out the rest of the
blog tour posts!
About the book:A novel about the end of days full of surprising beginnings
The world is living in the shadow of oncoming disaster. An asteroid is set to strike the earth in just one week’s time; catastrophe is unavoidable. The question isn’t how to save the world—the question is, what to do with the time that's left? Against this stark backdrop, three island teens wrestle with intertwining stories of love, friendship and family—all with the ultimate stakes at hand.
Alexandra Coutts's TUMBLE & FALL is a powerful story of courage, love, and hope at the end of the world.
About the author:Alexandra Bullen Coutts has been a playwright, waitress, barista, gardener, script reader, yoga instructor and personal assistant. She grew up in Massachusetts, went to college in New York City, and lives
most of the year full time on Martha’s Vineyard.
Q&A
RNSL: If you knew it was the last day of the existence of the world, how would you spend your last day? What would make it perfect?
The perfect last day on earth for me would be spent with my family and friends on the beach. Ideally, it would be glorious, beachy weather, and we would swim in warm water and picnic on delicious, summer food and play in the sand, and there would be music, and at the end of the night we would huddle together to watch the sunset.
RNSL: What's in your emergency kit? Are you the kind of person who's ready for anything?
I am the kind of person who is ready for nothing. I never even have a Band-Aid when I need one, which is starting to be a problem, now that I have a kid. I am the opposite of an alarmist, whatever that is: it takes a lot to get me to freak out about something, and I am prone to suspecting that everything is a conspiracy, unless I witness it firsthand. I guess this would make me pretty much the last person you would want in your corner, in the event of the real apocalypse. (Unless steadfast denial is your cup of tea!)
RNSL: Tumble & Fall isn't so much a dystopian as it is a story of relationships and attitudes. What inspired you to write this kind of book?
I think that is a wonderful description of not only this book but of every book I’ve written and hope to write. “Relationships” and “attitudes” are the things that most interest me in the real world, and so I find myself drawn to writing primarily about the way characters grow and change, as their relationships and attitudes grow and change around them. “Story” and “plot” for me are fancy ways of talking about the stuff that happens to make these changes happen, over the course of a book. But it’s the changes themselves that I find most interesting.
RNSL: There are so many elements put together in this story: astronomy, sailing, art... Did you have to do research, and what form did that research take? Were you already interested in these topics before you incorporated them into your novel?
The only thing I researched was the asteroid science, and let me tell you, it was terrifying. There are a number of videos floating around the Internet that simulate what would happen to Earth in the event of a serious asteroid “shower,” and I spent hours watching them, and biting my nails.
The rest of the stuff is pretty much from my life. I live on Martha’s Vineyard, where the book is set, so I spend a lot of time talking to people about their boats, or surfboards, or artwork. It’s a pretty fascinating community of people that live here year-round, and I do a lot of eavesdropping to make my characters more interesting, whenever possible!
RNSL: The characters are very much an ensemble -- so many individuals! Was it difficult to keep track of how their stories intertwined? How did you manage it?
This was my first multi-POV (point-of-view) book, and I have to say I found that aspect of writing it very, very challenging. There were times when my brain would start throbbing, from the effort of trying to keep track of where everyone was, what day it was, where we had seen them last and where they needed to end up. I had color-coded outlines and Stickies on my computer desktop with character names and descriptions, so I could remember everything from favorite foods to eye color. It was tough, but in the end, I felt like I had created this other little world: another island, similar to the one I live on but populated by a totally different group of fictional people!
RNSL: Do you have a new project in the works? If you can share anything about it with us, please do.
I do have a new book that I’m working on, but it’s still in the super-secret early stages. I can say that it’s another island story, and it’s something I’m really, really excited about!
RNSL: Did you set out to write a YA novel, or did you write it first without a clear idea of who the audience would be?
I knew that TUMBLE & FALL would be a YA book from the beginning, because I was interested in exploring the way every-day teenagers might react to something as big and terrifying as the end of the world. But what surprised me while writing was the fact that I wanted to know so much more about all of the secondary characters, as well, regardless of their ages.
Each main POV character (Sienna, Caden and Zan) had parents and siblings and acquaintances of all ages, and I found myself really drawn to the various ways different people might handle the same, incredibly high-stakes situation in different ways. It’s definitely a YA book because of the way it focuses on the teens in the story, but it’s my hope that people of all ages might be able to find characters they can relate to, as well.
RNSL: When you were a young(er) adult, were you a reader? What books did you read?
I read constantly when I was younger (still do, although I had more time to do it back then!) I went through a very serious Judy Blume phase (my all-time favorite childhood book was JUST AS LONG AS WE’RE TOGETHER. I still remember the first line: “Stephanie is into hunks.”) I took a brief detour into the teen horror genre, with guys like R.L. Stine (whom I met at BEA this year!) and Christopher Pike.
When I got to high school, I did most of my reading for classes, and I remember being introduced to amazing authors like Joyce Carol Oates, William Faulkner, and the poetry of E.E. Cummings. I wrote my senior thesis paper on
The Sound and the Fury by Faulkner and it’s still my favorite book, today.
Find out more about the author on her website alexandracoutts.com, and follow her on Twitter @abcoutts. You can also check out more stops on the Tumble & Fall blog tour, the Fierce Reads tour info and read an excerpt from the book!
My review post is still to come, but you can enter to win your own copy (if you live in US/Canada) using the Rafflecopter below!
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Thanks to Claudia Mills and FSG for inviting me to kick off the Zero Tolerance blog tour!
Go for the Cringe
by Claudia Mills
Like many authors, I fashion my books as a patchwork stitched from varied scraps of memories, although there may not be a single scene, character, or even line of dialogue taken intact from real life. Still, the emotional core of a book tends to start with some remembered childhood experience. Usually that core originates in some memory that continues even decades later to make me cringe.
I drew the actual incident that triggered Zero Tolerance from the local news, when a nearby middle school took action to expel an honor student who brought the wrong lunch to school, an incident that received extensive media coverage. I saved no newspaper clippings; I don’t have that kind of careful filing system for book ideas. But I held onto the story nonetheless. Years later, when I sat down to write Zero Tolerance, that incident stored in my writer’s brain helped unearth an adolescent memory stored in my writer’s heart.
Here is the memory at the heart of Sierra’s story.
Many years ago, as a student at North Plainfield High School in central New Jersey, one spring I took issue with the school’s practice of locking all the school doors after the closing bell (both from inside and out) even though extracurricular activities were going on at that time. What if there were a fire? How could students exit the school? It seemed to my adolescent self such a metaphor for school-as-prison. So I complained to my friends. I complained to a few teachers. And then one of my friends took it upon herself to send a letter to the local paper protesting the locked doors—and signed the name of our much-disliked P.E. teacher.
When the letter appeared in print, I was horrified. A budding writer, I knew how important it is that we can own the words that appear over our signature; I knew what a wrong thing my friend had done. Worse, I knew I would be taken to be the author of the fraudulent letter. I knew I would be blamed, or even punished, when I myself had done nothing wrong. I still remember the terrible helplessness I felt as I waited to see how the teacher would respond, for any attempts I made to clear my name would be taken only as further evidence of guilt.
What ended up happening was... nothing. Life is so often less interesting than fiction. The school year drew to a close, and I tried to suppress that painful memory as best I could. But it resurfaced as I grappled with how to tell Sierra’s story. Readers of the book will know that Sierra ends up sending a fraudulent letter to the newspaper signed by the much-disliked school secretary. And while she is clearly at fault for doing so, she spends most of the book being punished for something she clearly deserved no blame for doing.
Many other snippets from my real life found their way into the book. A sixth grade best friend who excelled at analyzing every utterance or gesture of the boys we liked. A teachers’ assistant at my sons’ elementary school who was inappropriately bossy toward the students. A friend of mine who is an ardent though unrecognized playwright. A comforting cat.
But the heart of the book is the dark memory of a letter that never should have been written. The heart of the book is a memory that still lies heavy on my heart. So my advice for other writers, and for myself as a writer, is and will continue to be: don’t be afraid to go into those dark places. Sometimes you can write the book you need to write only if you let yourself go for the cringe.
Larry+Harwood+(2).jpg "Claudia Mills (c) Larry Harwood")
CLAUDIA MILLS is the author of many chapter and middle-grade books, including
7 x 9=Trouble!;
How Oliver Olson Changed the World; and, most recently,
Kelsey Green, Reading Queen.
She also teaches philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
To learn more, visit her website:
claudiamillsauthor.comEnter to win a copy of the book using the Rafflecopter widget below!
Follow Claudia on her her blog tour! Check back for new posts between now and Sept 17.
- Wed, Sept 4 - Read Now, Sleep Later AND SLJ Teen giveaway
- Thurs, Sept 5 - proseandkahn
- Fri, Sept 6 - The Book Monsters
- Mon, Sept 9 - Once Upon a Story
- Tues, Sept 10 - Pass the Chiclets
- Wed, Sept 11 - The Late Bloomer's Book Blog
- Thurs, Sept 12 - Mother Daughter Book Club
- Fri, Sept 13 - The Children's Book Review
- Sun, Sept 15 - Nerdy Book Club
- Mon, Sept 16 - Geo Librarian
- Tues, Sept 17 - A Life Bound by Books
a Rafflecopter giveaway
In case anyone is wondering, the question you need to answer in the Rafflecopter (for the Commenting points) is
"Sierra ends up bringing something to school that she shouldn't have. More often than not, we forget to bring something to school we should have! What's the thing you kept forgetting to bring? For me, it was clean gym clothes :("
Thanks to Claudia Mills and FSG for inviting me to kick off the Zero Tolerance blog tour!
Category: Middle Grade Realistic Fiction
Keywords: School controversy, friendship, family, values, morality
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Source: Library; Netgalley
Synopsis:
Seventh-grader Sierra Shepard has always been the perfect student, so when she sees that she accidentally brought her mother's lunch bag to school, including a paring knife, she immediately turns in the knife at the school office. Much to her surprise, her beloved principal places her in in-school suspension and sets a hearing for her expulsion, citing the school's ironclad no weapons policy. While there, Sierra spends time with Luke, a boy who's known as a troublemaker, and discovers that he's not the person she assumed he would be--and that the lines between good and bad aren't as clear as she once thought. Claudia Mills brings another compelling school story to life with Zero Tolerance.
Review:
I was initially drawn to read this by the great cover art by
Vera Brosgol (author-illustrator of
Anya's Ghost -- note, not all her artwork is SFW ;) Sierra's worried brows striking just the right gesture of uncertainty towards the green apple on top of her head, William Tell-style, with the subtle background behind her forming a target. The symbolism of the apple is so clever--not just its part in setting off the events in the book, but also the reference to
apples for teachers, that iconic fruit for teacher's pets. I started this late one night and finished around 3 am, earning it the
Stay up all night rating!
Careful plotting and great characters are what make this middle grade novel by Claudia Mills so compelling to read. The book centers not necessarily around the zero tolerance policy that Sierra unwittingly breaks, but around the idea that right and wrong aren't always clearly defined. For a goody-two-shoes like Sierra and the other good girls she hangs around with, everything seems black-and-white... until she gets suspended and put on a track towards expulsion.
Her perspective shaken off its axis, Sierra starts to see people differently: Mr. Besser, the school principal she had previously viewed with an almost worshipful eye; her lawyer dad, who might not be handling the situation in a completely above-board way; and her friends, especially a cute boy named Colin who sticks up for her, but maybe not for the reasons she wishes he would. Then there's the hyperactive Luke, perennially suspended but not exactly bad-to-the-bone. Sierra starts to make impulsive, spiteful decisions she will later regret. As the consequences start to pile up, she needs to re-balance her views of good and bad if she is ever going to be able to make things right again.
There are a couple of words used that might make this objectionable for parents (assuming it's assigned for school reading), however I think Sierra's attitude towards swearing and how it changes throughout the book is a great way to broach the topic with tweens and younger teens (who, lets face it, probably swear a lot more than their parents think they do). Counterbalance that analysis with the school's creed: RULES - RESPECT - RESPONSIBILITY - RELIABILITY, and you've got quite a lot to talk about. The author provides
a discussion guide with activity ideas on her website.
I think this would make a great family tv-movie. Nick Offerman would make a great Mr. Besser; Joel McHale and Alison Brie could play Sierra's dad and mom. I don't know of any young actresses that could really pull off the various emotions and attitudes that Sierra goes through, do you?
Lastly, Sierra's mom keeps trying to keep her spirits up. She's affectionate and loving, but most noticeably (as most good moms do) she keeps feeding Sierra comfort foods. As the book goes on and Sierra becomes more and more disgusted by her own actions, she develops aversions to particular foods. I can't say I blame her! If only she hadn't brought that knife to school by accident... So below, I've included some ideas for apple nachos--if you're a kid, have an adult help you with the chopping and heating parts. You can vary the amounts as you wish, but for a lot of the toppings just a tablespoon of each will do. Recipes for the sauces follow. I'll try to update this post with more photos when I can make the other variations. And please, remember to leave the knife at home!
Enjoy!
Apple Nachos
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| "The Sweet Sierra" |
Ingredients:
An apple, any variety
A lemon
Assorted toppings
Equipment:
A knife
A cutting board
A mixing bowl
A serving plate (or a container with an air-tight lid if you're taking it to school)
Makes 1-2 servings
- Wash and dry an apple. You can peel the skin off if you want to, but I like to keep it on unless it's a variety that has a bitter or waxy skin.
- With an adult's help, chop the apple into quarters. Carefully cut out the core with the stem and seeds, then slice each quarter into thinner slices. These are your "chips".
- Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl.
- Toss the apple chips in the lemon juice and let them soak for a minute. This will stop them from turning brown right away. Drain and pat the apple chips dry with a paper towel.
- Arrange the slices on a plate and add your choice of toppings. You can drizzle the sauces on or put them on the side for dipping.
- Eat it right away, or take it to school with you.
Suggested Toppings:
The Sweet Sierra (pictured above)
the sweet and sour variation
Dulce de leche or caramel sauce + raisins + mini chocolate chips + shredded coconut
Media Circus
the nutty variation
Peanut butter sauce + raisins + chopped pecans + banana slices
The Principal Besser
the school lunch variation
Nacho cheese (yes, apples taste great with cheese!)
+ diced tomatoes, olives, and jalapeños (optional)
The Gerald Edward Shepard, Esquire
the fine dining variation
Extra-virgin olive oil + balsamic glaze or vinegar
+ pine nuts + crushed dried basil or oregano + parmesan cheese
(You can toss a little crushed garlic in there if you're really feeling brave)
The Cornflake
the French toast variation
Maple syrup + crumbled shredded wheat or other cereal +
cinnamon sugarThe Angie Shepard
the tough cookie variation
Cookie butter sauce + slivered almonds + dried cranberries
The Comfort of Friends
the hot chocolate variation
Chocolate syrup + mini marshmallows + whipped cream*
*You're going to want to eat this right away, unless you for some reason have access to a refrigerator at school. You can also toast this combo after adding marshmallows but before adding the chocolate syrup and whipped cream!
***
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp half and half, heavy whipping cream, or milk
1/2 Tbsp butter
Tiny pinch of salt
A few drops of vanilla extract
In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together all the ingredients except the vanilla. When the sauce has melted and blended together (about 1 minute), stir in the vanilla. Turn off the heat and keep stirring all the while to help it cool down. When it is no longer very hot, pour over apple nachos.
***
Peanut butter sauce
2 Tbsp peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
1 Tbsp half and half, heavy whipping cream, or milk
1 Tbsp white or brown sugar
Tiny pinch of salt
1 tsp maple syrup or light corn syrup
In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together all the ingredients until well blended. Turn off the heat and keep stirring all the while to help it cool down. When it is no longer very hot, pour over apple nachos.
***
Cookie butter sauce
1 Tbsp half and half, heavy whipping cream, or milk
1 Tbsp white or brown sugar
Tiny pinch of salt
In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together all the ingredients until well blended. Turn off the heat and keep stirring all the while to help it cool down. When it is no longer very hot, pour over apple nachos.
***
I used a Granny Smith apple for The Sweet Sierra variation since it's a little tart -- it balances out all the sweet stuff and I thought this represented Sierra's character changes throughout the book. I used Gala apples for all the rest but you can use any kind you like or have available. I also used Mallow Bits for the hot chocolate variation, but use regular mini-marshmallows if you're going to toast it.
Category: Young Adult Verse Novel
Keywords: Kidnapping, friendship, forgiveness, compassion, camp
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased from
Vroman's BookstoreFrom the jacket copy:
When Wren Abbott and Darra Monson are eight years old, Darra's father steals a minivan. He doesn't know that Wren is hiding in the back. The hours and days that follow change the lives of both girls. Darra is left with a question that only Wren can answer. Wren has questions, too.Years later, in a chance encounter at camp, the girls face each other for the first time. They can finally learn the truth—that is, if they’re willing to reveal to each other the stories that they’ve hidden for so long. Told from alternating viewpoints, this novel-in-poems reveals the complexities of memory and the strength of a friendship that can overcome pain.Alethea's Review:I once had a parent tell me that she did not want her daughter (14 at the time) reading verse novels as they were "too short" and "too easy". I tried to tell her they are just
different--that the form of the novel does tend towards brevity, but that extracting meaning from verse is sometimes a more difficult skill for kids to pick up. The parent was adamant, and I felt bad for her child--she'd be missing out on some great stories just because they were told in poetry format, or would at least until she is able to choose her own reading material.
I hope that girl gets to read Hidden
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Visit the author online at www.marierutkoski.com, Facebook and follow her on Twitter @marierutkoski
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Larry+Harwood+(2).jpg "Claudia Mills (c) Larry Harwood")
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Great interview! This book has a really pretty cover and the premise is intriguing. I would eat a lot of ice cream on my last day.
I'd eat lots of delicious food and spend the day with my wife and dog.
I'd eat all my fav foods and spend the time with my friends, family and loving up my dog ;) Thanks for sharing!
I'd be pigging out on my favorite foods & spending time with my family & close friends & my dogs.
eat whatever I want
I would probably try to do something really fun with the people I love!
I thought I commented yesterday But i don't see it... Maybe it didn't post??? I would spend the day pigging out on my favorite foods & Spend time with my family and close friends....
I love how almost every comment is related to food :'D Anyway, I would spend the day with friends and family, and make sure they knew how I felt about them.
I would travel to Engand and finally go on a Jane Austen tour... with a loved one of course :)
I would spend my time with family and a great book.
I would just want to spend my last day with my husband.